Blog #1

Everyday thousands of people manage to get by with little or no English. It’s tough to get through the day without knowing how to speak English. Asking for something becomes a challenge that a person has to overcome. As an immigrant I know how it feels to be in a strange place without being able to communicate with others.
When I arrived to this country, I couldn’t speak English. My vocabulary was limited to yes, no, and hello. I was only ten years old and I was attending Perry’s elementary school. The language barrier made it difficult for me to communicate with my teachers and classmates. Working in group activities was hard because I rarely knew what to do. Also, keeping up with school work was hard because I needed a translator for everything. This not only frustrated me, but also everyone around me. When I failed to do my homework because I didn’t understand what was going on, some of my teachers became angered. They didn’t understand that I wasn’t able to comprehend what they were saying, to them it almost seemed like I was doing it on purpose.
Seeing how my parents were struggling because they didn’t know how to speak English encouraged me to learn as much as I could. My parents often had to do the same things over again because they didn’t understand the instructions the first time. They often encouraged me to learn the language so I wouldn’t have to struggle over simple things like they did.
I had an ESL (English as a Second Language) class for half the day every day. As I sat in class I often remembered one of my daily challenges, this helped me not to give up when things became tough. I always worked hard. My ESL teacher was surprised at my progress. Every day I gave it my best, it was my goal to show everyone around me that I could learn English and succeed in life.
My hard work finally paid off, by the end of the school year I was able to communicate with my peers. Also, I completed my homework on time. I gained everyone’s respect by learning the language in a short time and doing well on all my classes. My family was proud of me, and I was satisfied with what I had accomplished.